Bellator fati
by NikolaiCreeper
Summary: When Nikolai's execution doesn't go according to plan, how will this savior of races alter her destiny as well as those around her? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Unbound

The tattered rags that covered my body began to fall as they forcibly walked me to the block and swiped the previous body away before placing me onto my knees and laying my head on the already blood soaked stone. My head was placed into position as a faraway thunderous roar could be heard echoing through the mountains like an avalanche and I rose my head in order to see what the executioner and guards could see and the blood dripped down my face as I realized that my hair was stuck to my face but before I could move my hair the executioner shoved my head hard against the stone. Stars could be seen as my vision cleared and another boisterous roar could be heard but this time no one above me turned to look as the executioner raised his ax and began to lower it. I watched as the ax lowered further and the clouds began to darken as flames fell from the sky. The executioner dropped the ax, nicking my neck, and ran as a dragon appeared from the darkened clouds and spewed a long flame which overtook the city in minutes.

"You wanna keep sitting there or escape, Comrade?" asked an already untied Ralof. His calloused hands found mine as he led me to a tower where he picked a bow and arrows from the body of an imperial soldier whose head looked as though it had been smashed in. "Don't look. You don't need to see something like that," he rushed trying to shield me away from the body of the young soldier but the body was then covered by a mound of rocks and mortar that shot from the outside of the tower. Ralof attempted to move the rocks that stacked upon his leg until the head of the dragon that interrupted our executions revealed itself to the newly formed hole and spewed a line of flame between the two of us. The dragons head disappeared back through the hole and the sound of wings could be heard accompanied by the sound of screams erupting from the town. "I need to get these off of me and you're of no use to me here. Thanks to the opening you can jump to that farm house and meet me near Helgen's exit. Good luck to you, Comrade, and maybe we'll survive this long enough for me to catch your name?"

Even in our immediate situation, I had to laugh at the slight ridiculousness of his request but felt obligated to answer him. "Ralof, it's Nikolai. When we get out of here we'll do some proper introductions," I said smiling despite my anxiety at the moment. His reaction was lost to me as I jumped from the tower into the farm house but not before my rags caught fire and the flame licked my skin as though it was parchment. The pain was excruciating as I tumbled through the remainder of the roof and rolled into the center beam of the house and with a loud crack my head whipped against the beam with surprising force causing stars to appear in front of my eyes for the second time in such a short amount of hours. I regained enough of my balance to being stumbling out from the decrepit home only to catch sight of scorched bodies.

"Prisoner, are you still alive? Good. Let's see if we can find us a way out of this inferno," Hadvar reached for my hands and led me down a small flight of stairs only to let me go and reach for the sword that sat at his side. "Stay close to the wall." He said as the dragon landed on the wall and another line of flame engulfed the people attempting to run behind the now decrepit homes. The talons that stood out from the dragons wings was a sharpness that glittered dangerously and it became further known to me as it pierced my shoulder and deeply sank in before being ripped away and the sound of wings above us. I felt myself collapse against the wall as the steady stream of blood coated what little I still wore and puddled beneath my bare feet, creating a strange concoction. "Prisoner, we're almost there and then you'll be able to rest." He gently pulled me up from my slouching position and put his arm behind my back attempting to support me as my legs began to give out on me. We were able to stumble a few more yards before I completely collapsed onto the ground and wished that he would just give up on trying to help me. Hadvar let out a sigh as he picked me up the way I had only seen lovers do and carried me to a half-broken door.

"Nikolai! Imperial scum, what have you done to her?" Ralof let out a feral snarl as Hadvar gently laid me onto the ground.

"She survived the run here because of me and you're going to accuse me of hurting her? The only damaging thing that has happened to her in my care is the wound to her shoulder and the mental scarring of the burned and screaming people. You really want to talk about hurting her? She came out of that farm house disoriented and not even knowing where the hell she was. Prisoner, are you coming with me or one of the men who got you arrested in the first place?" Hadvars face was distorted with rage as Ralof approached us and reached his hand out to me. "She can't even walk on her own, Stormcloak. You couldn't help her even if you tried." He looked triumphant as the Stormcloak took a defeated step back.

"I don't know what this 'Imperial' and 'Stormcloak' business is about but I think that if we were going to move that we should do it now. That dragon still doesn't look very sated and we may become its next victims," I said beginning to tire of their banter and my fears were confirmed as the dragon swept down and landed a few houses down from where this stronghold was and began to crawl its way over to us bellowing flame as it went.

Rolaf stooped down to my level and quickly tore a piece of his woolen armor to tie it around my shoulder once. I winced as he pulled it a little to tightly for my liking but soon forgot that as he scooped me up in the same manner that Hadvar had and rushed to the half caved-in door that Hadvar was planning on taking us into but Hadvar turned quickly to go into the other door when he noticed what Ralof was doing.

"You should have just left me out there to be devoured by that beast," I said quietly while the door behind us shut securely and wishing that men weren't so damned stupid. He laughed quietly before lightly putting me on one of the cots that stood out from the wall.

"Do you mean that imperial or the dragon?" He laughed even harder as he watched the dumbstruck expression cross my face. "Now that we're done trying to survive that let us get you cleaned up. Do you mind taking that rag of a shirt off? I promise not to look but I am kinda worried about how deep the puncture is," Ralof said as he turned his back to me and fetched a bowl and what looked to be mead.

The rag that I was wearing was placed to the side as I quietly finished stripping it off and watched as Ralof also removed his shirt and began to tear it into strips and dipping half of them into the bowl filled with the mead and wringing them out until they were no longer the color of the sky but a deep brown that matched my shirt almost perfectly at this point but I couldn't help but watch as the muscles in his back rippled powerfully.


	2. To Help the Enemy

"I know this is going to hurt but until we get you to a town this is the best we can do unless you wish me to also clean it with salt. Anyway, lay back and let me clearly see the wound." Ralof maneuvered my arms to my sides and took one of the wooden spoons from the shelf and began to prod my wound. If I thought the burns on my arms and neck were bad than this intrusion was absolutely and appallingly dreadful. My moans echoed throughout the room as he continued to see just how deep the dragon's talon had went and eventually pulled the back end of the spoon out of my shoulder and turned away from me.

"I'm sorry, Nikolai, but this is going to feel rather uncomfortable." Ralof said as he grabbed the bowl of mead and poured a small amount of it into the hole as I let out a bloodcurdling scream that rang in my ears as he finished pouring all of the bowl into it. The mead overflowed and spilled onto both the mattress of hay and pooled on my chest and the pain that continued to ring through my head and body began to finally lessen to a point where I could move around without noticing it to much and that's when I noticed that Ralof had his back to me and had his head down.

I hissed slightly as I propped myself up and continued to watch him as his shoulders continued to sink lower and lower. "Ralof," I whispered quietly. His head rose slightly but never turned to look at me. I brought my bloodied rag to my wound and pressed against it to stop the emptying of the mead and the blood that continued to drip from it but not as profusely as before and as I forced myself to stand and waddle over to Ralof.

"I shouldn't have poured so much in such a short amount of time but I wasn't sure what to do until we can get you to a healer of some sort," he said as he laid his head into his hands and hunched his shoulders even further. "If I can't even protect you how am I expected to help protect the people of Skyrim alongside Jarl Ulfric and his generals? Years and years of training led me to this day where we were ambushed and caught by the Imperial scum and we were no match for them. Tell me, Nikolai, how am I supposed to help people when you, a Nordic woman so small, can't even rely on me for protection?" Ralof began to shake slightly but shied away when I reached my hand out to comfort him.

I allowed my mind to clear as my hands began to shine an eerie blue as I placed one hand on him and the other on my shoulder. The moment my hand touched his shoulder and the light soaked into him his shaking had stopped and a deep sigh could be heard from him as he brushed my hand away and the hand that I had placed on my shoulder began to stitch the inside of the deeply torn tissue. The final amount of light streamed from my fingertips and into my wound as a deep fatigue began to fall upon me like the heavy blanket of sleep and I gradually made my way back to the cot and laid my head as comfortably as I could before another strained and thunderous roar could be heard from beyond the door and my consciousness was lost.

It was some hours later before I awoke to Ralof asleep on the cot opposite to my own. I was still shirtless when I awoke and began to remember the whole entirety that had happened and as I searched the chests for something to wear my mind fell to where Hadvar had gone and if he was faring well on his journey out of the Helgen disaster. My hands fell on the armor Hadvar had been wearing and I contemplated putting it on or pulling my raggedy shirt back on. Before placing the armor over my head, I allowed the light to flow from my hands once more into my now closing wound and continue to close and knit together the inside of the wound and watched as the muscles began to come back together and felt as the nerves reconnected together. The warmth from the spell increased exponentially as my magicka was drained for the second time in a day. I slipped the armor over my head and pulled both of my arms through as I walked to the door that separated us from the hellish leftovers of Helgen.

The door opened with little resistance but when my head peeked outside of the stronghold a body stood gripping the handle of the door attempting to shield themselves from the flaming onslaught of the dragon. Saying a small prayer I pried their hand from the handle and allowed them to fall to the ground and dissolve into a pile of ash that was being carried away by the small amount of wind that swept through the town carrying the stench of singed human flesh. A faraway roar could be heard from the direction of the mountains as I cautiously took a step away from the hold.

"You shouldn't come out here when you're so unsure of what could be lurking around the corner," said a familiar voice from behind me. Ralof's hand gripped my upper arm as he attempted to pull me back into the stronghold once more but I refused to budge until I noticed the other door a few yards away slightly opened with bodies packed to the side. He looked over to the door that my eyes had found and removed his hand from my arm. "He'll be fine. If he's like any other imperial than Hadvar will be fine. He's probably over in Riverwood drinking a cold ale with that beautiful bard and joking with Sven and if he's anything like he was when we were younger than he'll be fighting like hell to get out of here. Let's get back inside and get you healed up before we move on to Riverwood and see your friend there." Ralof held the door for me as he guided us back inside to rest a while longer.

"Do you're wounds need healing? You're leg looked pretty torn up earlier," I said reaching for his leg and pulling the armor up to his knee but his reproving look was enough to make me holdfast momentarily before my hand glowed the ghostly blue and was placed upon his ruined ankle. He sighed as the warmth from my hand displaced the pain that had been encumbering him for the past day but Ralof never even bothered to mention how hurt he really was. The tendons in his foot had been ripped from their original position and the punctures from the stone had left large and deep bloody cuts from mid-calf to the tips of his toes. I felt the last bit of strength flow from my fingers into his ankle as his tendons were healed and the cuts sealed closed but the fatigue that I had been fighting off for a time came to me at full force. I felt myself lean against the bed as the dizziness eventually floated away.

"You've over exerted yourself, Nikolai. Go and lay down and when you awake we will begin our journey out of here and to my home where my family will be waiting for us," he said scooping me up and placing me in the cot next to him and then walking further into the hold to test his newly healed ankle. I smiled as he walked away and noticed that his limp had gone and that sleep was very near.

"Nikolai! You need to get up now. There are other people in this stronghold other than ourselves and they are far from our friends. Hurry, Nikolai, otherwise we'll be forced to leave the way we came in and that dragon is still circling about," Ralof said urging me to my feet and handing me the rest of the imperial armor that I had found a day earlier as well as a sword. "By Talos, I hope you know how to use this." I quickly stripped the rest of the rags I had been wearing and exchanged them for the lighter of the imperial armor found and waited until he believed me to be completely ready. "Ready? Alright. Watch your step," he said grabbing my free hand and leading me into a hallway which spiraled downwards and opened into a large circular room with a large door blocking the way to another slightly larger circular room.

"Are those the bodies of the imperials or the Stormcloaks, Ralof?" I said in a frightened whisper as we approached the door and pulled the chain alongside of it. He nodded his head when I noticed a uniform that was not of the stormcloak ranks. "Hadvar! Can you hear me?" I placed my fingers to his wrist looking for the pulse that had to be there.

"Lass, why are you still in Helgen? Did that brilliant Stormcloak leave you here?" his hand reached for mine as he shivered in the hands of death. I looked to Ralof but he was smugly watching Hadvar from across the room with the kind of smirk that would drive anyone out of their sanity.

"I stayed in Helgen to make sure you were okay. I had this feeling that you hadn't gotten out of here yet," I said placing my hand on the wound across his stomach and permitted the unnatural light to warm both Hadvar and myself as I placed my sword that was being tightly held by my other hand on the ground and lifted the armor that stood between me and the large gash that plagued him. The light finally covered his taut abdomen and the wound tightly sealed itself together. "Hadvar, can you hear me? If you can, could you sit up for me? I need to make sure that you have no further injury," I said helping him slouch against the wall.

"Lass, the rest is just minor scratches but we need to get out of here. Is that idiot Ralof still with you?" Hadvar asked sneering into the name but also allowing me to help him up from the stony ground at the same time.

"I'm the idiot, Hadvar? I'm not the one who was damn near cut in two. I don't even know why she bothered to bring you back from the brink of death but maybe she brought you back so I could finish all that we started all those years ago?" Ralof's eyes began to shine with excitement as he rose from his seat and leisurely strode over to where Hadvar and I stood. "Nikolai, I think it's time for us to leave this man to his own devices. We have a long way until we reach Riverwood," Ralof said grabbing my hand away from Hadvar.

"Nikolai. What a wonderful name for someone so kind," Hadvar said handing my sword back to me and turning to grab his own from the chest from one of the Stormcloaks. He wiped the semidried blood from his sword onto the bottom of the imperial armor and began the trek the way that Ralof and I had come from.

"Hadvar, why don't you come with us? We'll get there quicker and it would be so much easier to have the three of us rather than two," I said taking my hand from Ralof and placing it on the hilt of the sword that now sat at my side and was slightly covered by the shirt of the imperial armor that I wore. Without looking at either of us, Ralof began walking down the hall and when a large crash could be heard from that direction Hadvar and I sprinted to see what had happened.

"The damned roof collapsed but thankfully it crushed the imperials that were going to take chase. At least there is a door we can go through here and we won't have to backtrack," Ralof said looking surprisingly distressed as he beckoned for us to continue with him.

"We can mourn for them later Hadvar but right now we need to get out of here. The sooner we can get out of here the sooner we can get to your home," I said trying to reassure him. It almost worked but then he remembered the other company we were keeping and became even more grim set as we continued down the flight of stairs beyond the door. Ralof signaled for us to hold as shadows danced across the wall and talking could be heard. My stomach churned at the thought of what we were about to do.


	3. Proving Ground

"Do you think anyone else survived the attack?" One of the shadows asked the others that sat around the fire and what smelled like beef stew reached their noses. "Did you hear something?" By this time we had snuck down the corridor and into the kitchen area with them and sat in the shadows waiting for them to be satiated by the bounty that sat in front of them. The fire finally died down in time for the men around it to fall into a deep slumber and we finally took the time to strike. We emptied their kettle and sacks of food, wine, and ale but also managed to hunt down a few gold coins and miscellaneous potions which we managed to fit into one of the satchels we had found lying around the kitchen lay overflowing over Hadvar's back.

"Do you think we should really just leave them? I mean, they may not decide to find their way out until the dragon leaves and that may be days from now," I said watching them as they slowly breathed in and out before turning to see both men staring at me rather naively but both began to laugh at my request.

"I've let you bring Hadvar into this equation and I personally believe that that is more than enough imperial for this troupe. If they want to join us then they are more then welcome to as long as they keep their swords raised only to those who threaten us on this quest," Ralof said scratching his head and watching Hadvar's reaction to calling his own men traitorous and cowardly.

"I would be more worried if we were to run into Stormcloaks. They would only spare you, Ralof, and Nikolai and myself would be as good as dead so at least my men show some restraint," Hadvar said spitting in the direction of Ralof but beginning to take the first few steps leading to another chamber underground. I followed him with a sulking Ralof in tow muttering to himself about how wrong he truly was.

Swords clashed against one another when we reached what looked to be a torture chamber with newly opened wounds on the young soldiers that laid on the hardened ground with their blood pooling around each other and their swords sticking out of each others gorges. Hadvar and Ralof ran ahead of me to help the torturers defeat whoever the intruders were. A scream could be heard but was immediately cut off when a thud hit against the wall I was cowering behind.

"Nikolai, it's safe to come out now," Hadvar said gently and reaching from my hand. My hands wouldn't stop shaking even as he rubbed them securely between his own and led me over the bled out bodies and into a chair that sat at the opposite end of the room. "Did you three even know that a dragon attacked Helgen about two days ago?" Hadvar asked as he turned the bodies of the imperial soldiers over to hide their faces from my eyes.

"No. we heard some outrageous screams and it became a few degrees warmer the past few days but other than that there was nothing. Oh! We ran into these wonderful Stormcloaks dressed as imperials. Anyway, there's an exit over passed the torture cages. Have a wonderful day, strangers." Two of the men went up the stairs and were lost to us while the third one watched us curiously.

"Nord, do you know how to pick a lock?" he nodded his head towards me and reached into his pocket for what looked to be little sticks with nooks and points. "This is a lock pick. Come here and I'll show you how to use them right, little lass." I walked over to him and removed one of the picks from his hand and walked over to one of the cages with the mages body in it. He grabbed my hands and gently pushed them into the lock. "Do you feel how it just clicked into place? That means you're doing this right and now you need to just adjust your wrist. There! You, my fine Nord, are going to be one hell of a thief one day!" The door clicked open and the body within the cage was opened to me. I dug into his pockets and pulled out a few gold pieces and another potion but there was a book sitting next to him with an interesting insignia. I cracked the book open and watched as a flow of power entered my hands and a word appeared on the back of my eyelids and it read spark.

"Nikolai, it's time for us to move on. What's wrong?" Hadvar reached out to me but I just couldn't manage to touch him and when I did he quickly pulled away rubbing his hand. "Y-You shocked me!" he said laughing and rubbing his hand more profusely before showing me the slight burn mark on his index finger that glowed before he placed it in his mouth for a momentarily. I walked over to Hadvar and placed my hand over his and permitted the blue illumination to cover his finger and watched as the irritated skin was healed and brought back to its usual pink self.

"You deserve it, Hadvar. You killed my men and now you have been burnt by the one who invited you into our company. Maybe that is a sign from the Gods themselves that you should be on your way," Ralof watched him with such scorn that even his fierce look was even to much for me. I turned from him and watched the third man in our new troupe as he fiddled with a lock that was pulled from one of his deeper pockets and I watched as he locked it and unlocked it and smiled as he offered it to me.

"It's an amazing way to pass the time when you have two imbeciles vying for your affection but I will only restate what I said earlier. You will be a wonderful lock pick and if you so desire you will become quite the little thief. Come. There is a map over here and I will show you where the guild of thieves is," he brought us over to a map and pointed to a town called Riften.

"Riften? You'll forgive me but I haven't been here but for the week or so that I was held prisoner and these few days of actually being partially free. I came to this country as my mothers final wish and so far it is far from what she told me it would be but then again I just had to show up in the middle of this damned civil war and get caught crossing the border by both sides. At least I didn't get put into slavery like my other family members had." I turned my back away from him and saw two sets of eyes staring at me. One was an incandescent blue and the other was a luminescent green which looked identically shocked at my outburst at such an innocent suggestion.

"Maybe it's time we move on. The sooner we finish this the sooner we can sleep on a wonderful bed from the inn at Riverwood and maybe we'll be able to get little Sven to sing for you," Ralof said trying to lift the suddenly darkened environment that had begun to settle itself upon us. He was the first one into the hallway that led to the exit and we watched as he walked a few more yards before I followed him down. "Shh.. There's someone else down here." As in the kitchen, shadows danced off of the walls as the soldiers patrolled and I couldn't help but notice how far back Hadvar was standing from us now.

The first imperial noticed our shadows intertwined with the standing shadows of his comrades and rushed to confirm his examination but received an arrow directed to his torso by our third partier but received a swift beheading by Ralof. Though this man didn't make a sound leading to his death but his armored body clattered to the ground with a loud clatter that rang through the cavern and alerted our enemies that there was someone other than themselves there. One man rushed from the crudely built bridge and another from the lone staircase to the right of us which led to a small river running through the room and on the other side of the room sat another soldier with his bow pinned directly at us. Ralof rushed the man from the bridge where as Hadvar came upon the man from the stairs with a flood of thrusts and parries. An arrow struck the wall nearest to my head as our torturer took it upon himself to launch a projectile at our aggressor and apparently it hit its mark and with the ringing of his helmet falling to the earth rebounded into the small river.

"Nikolai, get to the other side of the bridge while we finish off this last one," Hadvar advised as the three of them crossed the stairwell and launched and three-on-one attack on a seemingly defenseless archer and I gingerly took the steps to cross the bridge in time to notice a slick substance covering a portion of the floor. The clanging of the body hitting the floor caught my attention and I watched in triumph as the three men seemed unharmed but they were shouting something that was a rather feeble attempt as the words were carried away by the bubbling of the river as it made its way into the unknown underground and I finally realized what they were trying to tell me as a slick and cold dagger rested upon my gorge.

"Well, aren't you a pretty one," said the man hiding behind the small knife who still held it pompously against me but someone who forgot to be watching my hands. The word I desired was flame and in the twinkling of an eye the slick liquid beneath our feet began to glow and blister our armor and skin. The man screamed but retreated further into the flames and receding one step took the conflagration away from my body but I watched as the man burned to death with a grim satisfaction. The blaze calmed once the liquid had dissolved and before I had registered that I had made my first kill I had three pair of hands running over me and checking how singed I had became.

"That was bloody marvelous! Maybe a visit to the mages college will provide you with a better education than the thieves ever could." Our torturous friend exclaimed as he grabbed my hands and joyously swung me around as though I were a child but he soon let me go and fall to the ground in a dizzied but exhilarated fashion.

"It's time for us to continue on. We only have a short way to go now and the sooner we get out of here then I can finally be rid of this imperial scum," Ralof said grumbling as he continued down the hall beckoning to us. We finally reached a large cavern that expanded upwards for what seemed like a mile but we stopped short when we noticed that the torturer had stopped short and turned back around. He smiled and waved at us as he turned to backtrack to the chambers but a rumbling from above the archway of the door caught our attention and we failed to signal to him in time before the entire rock formation fell atop him.

I was screaming as I ran to the area where our friend had just been and began to throw the rocks to the side until I finally found his body crushed and ruined. He was unrecognizable as I pulled the final pieces of rubble from him and pulled his head onto my lap as his harsh gasps began to quiet until no sound was made by him. The tears that fell from my face were used to wash away the blood and soot that had settled and soon both Hadvar and Ralof had dug a hole deep enough to fit two or three men into and we began the process of our makeshift funeral.

"The wind is getting louder. The exit must be close now and we'll stop within the hour, Nikolai. Alright?" Hadvar said as he helped me up from my spot next to the mans grave and led me to the path that would hopefully lead us out of this damned cave.


	4. Brotherhood

The walk continued much longer than the hour Hadvar had promised but I personally wouldn't want to stop here either. Spider webs coated everything in vast quantities but the most disturbing thing was the human bodies that were dressed in regular clothes. There were no soldiers in this place but there seemed to be something much worse and my fears were confirmed as we took one final step and several large spiders running string from the ceiling dropped in front of us with there legs raised and their fangs ready. Hadvar ran to the left while Ralof went to the right and both were facing spiders that easily were two times their size but my mind went back to the grave that we had just put behind us.

"I will not allow another one of you to die," I said as a volley of flame left my hands and caught the seemingly flimsy webbing ablaze which caught the immediate attention of the spiders and webbing was launched at me but I was thankfully able to dodge it without to much difficulty but only two of the seven had perished due to the flames. The men continued to work their blades on the bodies of the spiders but to no avail until I launched another barrage of flame at the grouping and watched as they were hacked to pieces until all was left was the largest of the seven. Its fangs glistened dangerously and the memory of the dragon came back as I reached for my half healed shoulder and permitted the awful memory of the pain to flash through me momentarily while my flame grew in rage and power alike and was discharged into the spiders' face causing it to finally catch fire and begin to smoke. The smell of death was heavy in the air as I located both Hadvar and Ralof far off in one of the corners harvesting the spider eggs and skeever tails that hung from the ceiling in clumps.

"You've done very well for yourself, Nikolai. Is this the first day you've ever actually been in battle?" Hadvar asked as he approached me with what looked to be a necklace from one of the human carcasses. I placed it around my neck carefully and smiled at Hadvar sadly but nodded as I remembered the man who I had burned to death.

"It was my first time in battle and I am glad that I had two very strong men there to help me get through these obstacles," I said looking at the corpses of the spiders and deciding to keep note of the monstrosities that we had discovered in the caves beneath the stronghold of Helgen. We carefully walked around the corpses and found another tunnel leading ever deeper into the seemingly never ending cavern and when we began to walk in a rather large circle the idea came to me to use a spell that I had been working on for quite some time before coming to Skyrim. The word, clairvoyance, came to me as I leveled my hands to the ground and waited for the magicka to come to me. A glistening line of silver fell against the floor and led the way into an even larger cavern and we had finally caught up with the small river that led from the above chamber.

"This has been quite the adventure, Nikolai. Thank you for allowing me to travel with you and the Stormcloak. The wind has grown even louder and we'll be able to break soon," Hadvar said looking just as sad as I had begun to feel especially knowing that the men who had helped me through this catastrophe will be leaving me once we reach Riverwood. I reached one hand each to both of the men and guided them to the small crudely made bridge but noticed a rather large ball of fur almost hidden in a much smaller grotto. I pointed it out to the men and quietly asked what we were to do and it was answered by Ralof pulling his bow and arrow and dislodging the projectile into the gullet of the bear which was followed by Hadvar making sure that there would be no more fighting for us today. He signaled for us to move over into the grotto and pulled out a hunting knife and began to skin the beast.

"Ralof, when I have finished skinning him could you possibly find us a kettle to cook with? We might as well use all we can of him," Hadvar said not looking up from carefully skinning the beast and I had to admire how well the two men had been getting along for the handful of days we had been traveling together.

"You two have gotten along very well this past week or so. Since you both are enemies I was curious as to why you were getting along so well," I asked not looking up from Hadvar's bag and bringing out the food we had stolen earlier from the other soldiers as well as cleaning the fruits, meats, and vegetables found on our journey here.

"Well, Ralof and I had been friends when we were young. Sven introduced us and we were the best of friends up until a few years ago when Jarl Ulfric and General Tullius began to call to arms. Sven went to the Bards College and I went with him. Not only was the College in Solitude but so was my chance to go and join the Imperial Army. When I told Ralof of my plans he immediately confronted my uncle about this and when my uncle gave no sort of leverage for him to use he came to me." Hadvar turned away from me then almost as though he was ashamed. "He was concerned about my choice and tried to persuade me to join the Stormcloaks but I had made my decision and was leaving later that day. After I had left, he decided to join the Stormcloaks and has resented me for not listening to him. Understandably, this last part is what I heard from my uncle." Hadvar had finished skinning the beast and had moved the body where Ralof could gut him but the regret in his tone made me believe that so much more had happened than what was being said.

"You missed out the part where you were betraying everything that we had believed in. In the beginning, you agreed with what the Jarl said and then you just completely disagreed with everything after he took the High King off of the throne. I don't understand how you could betray your country like that, Hadvar. How could you betray me like that? We were supposed to be blood brothers and you completely went around me to work for the enemy." Ralof turned the bear around and tore into it with such wrath that I felt bad for both of the men who hurt so badly but never had the chance to talk about what had happened years ago.

"Ralof, put the organs in this and I'll clean them out in the river as well as cook these." I help up our goods from earlier and a small smile reached him again as he motioned for the kettle. "And while I cook the dinner why don't you two talk about these matters. We have time until we have to return to the real world and maybe you both will be squared enough away where the anger will dissipate." I said speaking aloud the thoughts that were plaguing my mind. What would I do once I get out of these caves and reach Riverwood? They would have both found there homes with their families but I have nothing here. My attention was once more on the meats in the kettle as I cut them and rinsed the bile and wastes from within them.

The bear had been thoroughly gutted and the skin lay over a set of rocks outside of the grotto. The men's chores had been finished and I couldn't help but feel anxious for what could possibly happen next. "Nikolai, it's time. The two of us will backtrack so that we won't disturb you. Thank you for giving us this opportunity," Hadvar announced before signaling to Ralof to get moving. I knew that they were planning on going over to the grave and discuss everything that needed to be and I hoped that the torturer's spirit was going to watch over them and guide them to the right conclusion at the end of this.

There had been enough time after cooking the broth and setting up a clear area where we could dine to set up places for the three of us to sleep and actually be kind of comfortable. The straw that I had found at the other side of the cavern was dry but still mildly soft and there was enough to heavily pad the men's bed from the harsh rock. Footsteps echoed behind me and I happily turned hoping to see Hadvar and Ralof but instead found no one. I began to wonder if they had been able to go further back but then worry began to creep up on me. What would happen if the two of them were caught by more roaming soldiers? No. Both of them would be back when they were ready. I put the broth off of the newly stoked fire and onto the flat stones next to it and proceeded to lay down on one of the mediocre beds that I had built for the three of us.

"Hadvar, we took to long," whispered a slightly embarrassed Ralof who pulled the straw over me. I heard one of the bowls being picked up and a ladle hitting against the sides of the kettle but there was no other noise from the two of them until they reached the beds.

"I swear. There is something special about this girl, Ralof, and I know you feel it just as well as I can. She barely knows us yet she's put herself in so much danger to help us reach this point in our quest and, for a novice, she has done remarkably well for herself. The torturer was right about her being able to do whatever she wants and that she'd be wonderful at it." Hadvar whispered trying not to wake me but I had wanted to stay awake until they both made it back to the camp and were fed but now I wished to stay awake long enough to hear what they had to say.

"She'll make one hell of a woman for someone, Hadvar. She has the tenacity of the snow cats and the kindest soul I have seen since before the war. I only wish that one of us could claim her but neither of our professions would allow it." Ralof said sounding sullen about the idea but I felt myself blush at this small confession and even more so when there was no objection by Hadvar.

"I only hope that she is happy with whoever her chosen is and don't give up hope, brother! She could come to one of us once the fighting has ceased. She seems rather happy although her outburst earlier at the comment the torturer makes me feel slightly uneasy. You heard her confess that some of her family was in slavery, did you not?" Hadvar stopped suddenly and I realized how stiff I had become when he mentioned my family. "Nikolai, what happened to them? Or, are you not at liberty to say?" I froze but felt as though I was obligated to answer them.

Gingerly, I sat up and smoothed down my under armor. "My mother was killed in a raid a few months ago so her large estate was going to my eldest brother, Alexander, but he was captured by one of the local bandit groups and was sold to one of the many argonian slave traders. My father was outraged and went in search of him but he never made contact with us again and than my sisters fell into the mix. Rhona, my eldest sister, attempted to provide for my younger sister and myself but she was caught poaching in one of the lord's forests and was sentenced to fight in the arena for her freedom." A sob escaped me as I recalled all that had happened over the past few months and was ashamed at my behavior.

"It's okay, Nikolai. Everything's better now but what happened to your other sister?" Ralof pulled me against him as I finished the chronicle.

"She tried to flee with me to Skyrim but when we reached the checkpoint she was pulled from our carriage and taken somewhere else and right after that I had been arrested by the imperials," I finished as Hadvar carefully grabbed the hand closest to him. I moved closer into Ralof's shoulder and allowed them both to pet me until sleep eventually covered me.


	5. Captivating Light

When I awoke, the fire had been covered in a light coating of snow and the men had yet to awaken to the chilly cavern. I cleared the snow from the still slightly smoldering pile and added another few logs to the so to be pyre. My hands flickered before the logs caught and it wasn't long before dinner leftovers had been boiling over the fire and the men were beginning to toss and turn before hiding their eyes away from the bright reflecting snow.

""I'm surprised you're up so early, Nikolai. Why don't you head back to bed for a little while?" Ralof raised his straw covered head from our bed and I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked. Hadvar raised his head up and a brand new onslaught of laughter began until tears dripped down my face and I walked over to the men and plopped down in the middle of them as I began to pluck the straw from their hair.

"Go back to sleep. It's way to early for this, Nikolai." Hadvar draped his arm over my torso and dragged me back into the straw while Ralof held my legs down but tickled the bottom of my feet. "Now, will you surrender?" he whispered into my ear while rustling my hair with a handful of the straw.

"To you? I will never! I thought we were trying to get out of here and back to Riverwood?" I was still laughing but Hadvar had finally released his grip on me and had begun to pull the straw away from my face in groups. Ralof, noticing Hadvars hasty halt, pulled away from us also pulling the straw away from his own face.

"It's true that we need to get home but there's no rush. We spoke last night after you fell asleep and we thought that it wouldn't be to bad if we decided to stay here for another night or so. You have nothing of such importance and we only have our duties to go back to and now that our friendship has been mended we wish to enjoy our time before heading back into the war zone." Ralof said not meeting my questioning eyes but having plenty of time to glace at his brother hastily.

"Well, unfortunately, with or without you I'll have to be going. I still have to procure the home that my mother left for me here but that doesn't mean that I won't be able to see you two again, right?" I looked at both of them and felt a small pang of dread as neither of them said anything. I quickly sat up from the mess on the floor and watched as the light grew even brighter. "Let's get some food in us before it gets burned." The boys looked at me and I could feel their stares but I couldn't bear to look at them especially when I knew I'd be leaving them in the next day and a half or so.

"We'll leave today, Nikolai, but don't take these few hours away from us. There's something here that's between the three of us that hasn't been mended yet or has it not even begun?" Hadvar watched the fire before turning to me with a smile and I realized just how heartbreaking this parting would be at the end of the day. I stood and walked to the seeming exit to the cave was and swore that another thunderous roar could be heard in the distance but why would that damned dragon still be flying around especially since it decimated Helgen.

"It's awful pretty out here, isn't it? All of the flowers are in bloom and the mosaic of colors can be so much some days," Hadvar said as he gently intertwined our fingers. "You don't care much for Ralof, do you?" he whispered to me but it sounded as though it had been carried by the breeze but with this I realized what he was trying to accomplish.

"Hadvar, you're real sweet but I think it's time for the three of us to make our way to Riverwood. We've been here for a little over three days and that's three days that you and your brother could have been recuperating." I said dropping his hand and walking back inside the cavern to pack up our little satchel of food.

"You two not eating? There's a lot of food here and I think it would be beneficial if we finally decided on the plans to move out," Ralof said watching the stew before diving in with one of the wooden ladles.

"Our plan is to head out immediately so when you have finished with your meal we'll pack up and head to your home. The sooner we part ways the sooner we'll all get back to our lives." Ralof looked put out by what I was throwing his way but when he saw Hadvar walk in things managed to click into place and with this he began to pick up his mess and we were finally on our way. We took our first steps outside of the great cavern and were blinded by the brightness of the sun. the trail spread itself out rather plainly to us as we continued walking but I still felt the need to walk with the two men who had helped me get through every obstacle this cavern had to throw at us.

"We'll be there in less than an hour now but ahead of us are stone that help us to decipher what we control of our future. Here they are now." Hadvar pointed to three standing stones in the middle of what looked to be a large palette but the stones had something inscribed on them. I damn near ran to the stones feeling a rush of excitement flow through me as I reached them and read that there was the warrior, the mage, and the thief stone. "You'll begin to excel in one of these three if you decide to choose right now," he said with his back to me.

"Well, I need to know this more than the others." I said as I placed my hand upon the warrior stone and watched as a beam of light pierced through the clouds and struck the sky.


	6. To Unveil a Thief

Hadvar led the way to Riverwood now but I couldn't help but look back at the standing stones and watch as the lone beam began to fade into the darkening sky. His pace began to pick up and I found that I didn't mind getting left behind. When both men were out of my sight, I began to wander the path and pick the mountain flowers that lined the road in wonderful shades of reds and blues. Thistle was sprouting up in patches along the road and I found myself staring into the opening of a babbling brook. I sat along the embankment of the brook and listened as both it and the wind were whispering eternal secrets in my ear and I couldn't help but smile and sigh as I watched everything begin to darken; the bright colors of the auroras began to reflect off of the water. The small sound of footsteps caught my attention but the beauty of this place left me transfixed and I was unable to turn and see my intruder.

"You shouldn't be in a place like this by yourself, lass." The man stepped from the shadows and approached me with a blade in his hand. The light of the moon began to wash over him and the mysterious man was cloaked in a silvery light but he was so beautiful. His hair fell to his shoulders and his eyes were as sharp as the sword in his hands; his features were soft and I felt like he would be someone to trust. "What are you doing out here by yourself?" he asked looking around quickly before advancing towards me and sheathing his weapon securely at his side. His hand never left the hilt of his sword as he sat beside me on the embankment. I was still pulling the flowers apart carefully when the man gently shoved into me and I fell into the freezing water. He fell back laughing and I couldn't help but seize the opportunity to grab his leg and pull him into the water with me but that didn't stop him from laughing and I couldn't help but begin laughing myself.

A piece of slimy moss hung from his shoulder and I reached out and gently pull it from the laughing man but stopped short when a thundering roar could be heard from the mountain towering ahead of us and the sound of monstrous wings beating made me cower into the bank. The stranger watched me curiously as I ducked my head beneath one of the looming bushes on the edge of the bank when the wings beat overhead and circled back to the mountain's peak. As I cowered, a hand gently grabbed my arm and pulled me from the quivering bush but there was something soft and kind about this sympathetic gesture.

"The name is Brynjolf, lass. I'm assuming that you've heard that noise before now? The way you were cowering tells me that you know quite the information on what that beast was," he said eyeing me curiously before helping me up from the freezing water. I nodded quickly and climbed the embankment before turning to help him up the muddy wall.

"Brynjolf, it's a pleasure. They call me Nikolai and your assumption was right. Walk with me to Riverwood and I'll gladly tell you what it was," I said still slightly fuming at the man who threw me into the brook. "I do have a favor to ask though." He motioned for me to continue. "I need to change out of this armor," I said removing the partially blood soaked rag from my satchel. Brynjolf sighed and began to turn when he noticed the rags in my hands and he began to reach into a bag sitting next to one of the trees. A blue and brown dress was removed from his bag and he gingerly held it out to me.

"A beautiful woman like you should not have to wear such nasty rags," Brynjolf said turning away from me and walking towards the edge of the brook before removing his boots and placing them next to him while his feet hovered right above the chilly water. I unlaced the imperial boots and moved to remove the gauntlets from my forearms when the sound of steps ahead of me reached my ears and I shied into the shadows of the towering trees.

"Brynjolf, we finally found you. We have some new recruits that we need to break in and Mercer said they would fall under you," said a deep and powerful voice only a few steps ahead of me but I felt a firm dagger sitting at my neck.

"Rune, we have a witness. Do we take her to the guild?" asked a higher voice in my ear. Brynjolf stood then and walked past the man named Rune and confidently strode up to the woman behind me and removed the dagger from her hand. A quiet sigh left me and I found myself staring into the deep brown eyes of Rune with Brynjolf close behind him. Rune sternly grabbed my chin and held it in place as he examined me.

"She's harmless, Vex, and Bryn doesn't seem to worried about her either," he said smiling sweetly and I found myself wondering what would have happened if he had found me instead of Brynjolf. "Although, I am surprised at you Bryn. You're supposed to be the thief of virtue yet you have left this beautiful woman intact." Both men were laughing and slapping each other on the back when I caught Vex rolling her eyes at the men and I couldn't help but wish that I was apart of them. I smiled before moving behind one of the larger trees to finish getting undressed but found that I had company even here.

"For now, I can't let you out of my sight and I guess I couldn't have come at a better time for you," Vex said as she helped me untie and pry the armor away from my slick skin. When the armor gave and was pulled away, an audible gasp could be heard from Vex as she inspected the large circular scar that sat on my shoulder. I smiled sadly as I continued to remove my armor and swiftly placed the beautiful dress onto my still drying body. Vex looked at the dress disapprovingly but motioned for me to return to the men on the other side of the tree.

"The dress suits you," Brynjolf said eyeing me in the same fashion Hadvar had but his eyes cut away when they reached my shoulder. I realized that the dress didn't cover my them and my newly healed scar stood out horribly against my pale skin.

Rune was also watching me with a kind of apprehension and the question bubbled to his lips before the other two. "Where'd the scar come from?" he asked walking closer and tracing it with his fingers before drawing away from the ruined flesh.

"Well, has the news from Helgen arrived yet?" I asked hoping that they knew about the dragon destroying the homely town. They all shook their heads and I felt a small pang of uneasiness. "There was a dragon attack in Helgen. I escaped with a stormcloak and imperial soldier. While escaping, the dragons' claw dug into my shoulder on the last leg of our way to the Helgen stronghold." I grew quiet as I delivered the news but Vex, who had moved from behind me, sneered in my face and laughed.

"There are no dragons. They've been extinct for decades, for centuries. Do you have any other proof?" Vex was looking between the men and I as she waited for an answer and I provided none for her. "You're nothing but a damned liar," she said as she pulled another of her daggers from its sheath at her side and slowly walked to me. "You don't know what we do to liars in Riften, do you?" The dagger was pushed against my cheek and I felt something run from my cheek bone to my chin.

"Vex, stop. When you were trying to hide from that noise, was that the dragon you speak of?" Brynjolf looked concerned but smoothed his features when a livid Vex turned to look at him. She began to say something but she was immediately cut off by Rune who had slapped his hand over her mouth. "Don't look at me like that, Vex. If you had been here earlier, you would have heard it as well and; it was mighty terrifying," he said looking over at the mountains where the echoes were heard and he motioned for me to come to him. I was just as mesmerized by him as I was the beauty of the landscape and I pushed the dagger from my face before walking to him.

"It's time for us to leave now, Nikolai. If you need anything, and I do mean anything, do not hesitate to write or visit. Riften can get boring when you've finished all your work for the month," he said before motioning for the other two to leave. The moonlight fell on him again and even though he was just as beautiful, there was a darkness about him that wasn't there earlier. "Before I leave, I think I deserve a kind of compensation for that beautiful dress. I stole that from a noble woman two days ago and it would have fetched quite the coin. How will you compensate?" Brynjolf watched me carefully as I reached for my satchel. I turned it over looking for my septims but there were none to be found and he looked rather put out by this. "A kiss will do, lass," he said pulling me into the moonlight with him and softly placing his lips on mine. None of the men in Kvatch had ever been so forward with me before and I felt myself moving with his coarse lips and found that I didn't mind. He pulled away after a moment and drew me closer. "Isn't this better than being on the executioner's block?" he whispered into my ear and, when I turned to look at him, he was gone.

I carefully wrapped my satchel around my waist before turning to the path leading back to the road. The walk to the town was much shorter then I had previously thought but I felt embarrassed that I had left Hadvar and Ralof to wait all evening. The road was slightly cobbled and the moon had hidden itself behind one of the mountainous clouds so feeling my way to the town seemed like an impossible task until small flickering lights caught my attention. I smiled to myself as I gingerly felt my way across the stones and finally reached the torches at the entrance of the town but found two very angry men watching me. Smiling sweetly, I walked to the men but my feet got caught up in the slightly lengthy dress and I found myself falling to the hard ground.


	7. Not the Time

Both Hadvar and Ralof came to catch me when one of the town guards appeared from the above bridge sounded a kind of alarm to the other guards and we were soon surrounded by them with their weapons drawn. "What is your business here?" asked one of the guards as they prodded us with the hilt of his sword. I looked to both of the men who stood in front of me and watched as Hadvar advanced first.

"Gentlemen, we are here because of our families. We are both here on leave and have decided that visiting would best before we begin the attack on the stormcloaks. My friends here are refugees from Helgen and don't worry about what this one is wearing. We were looking for anything to put him in until we got him home and this armor was the only thing around other than a potato sack. Trust me when I tell you that he would blind you if he was in the sack," Hadvar said winking at one of the female guards. She momentarily giggled before being glared at by her superior.

"Alright. You may enter Riverwood but we will be watching you. You make a wrong move and you will immediately be brought to the jailhouse in Whiterun," he said turning and signaling to the guards to return to their posts. Ralof began to laugh quietly at first but it soon grew until it was echoing off of the stone and the trees but he was silenced when Hadvar cuffed him. I watched the two as they pushed and shoved at each other into the little town but an older woman caught my attention.

"I saw it! It was a dragon black as night fly over. Didn't you see it?" she asked loudly and looked in my direction as her son coarsely answered her. "You saw it. You saw it fly, didn't you?" I was transfixed by her as her son walked up and gently shook me from my stupor.

"Don't mind my mother. She doesn't know what it is she's talking about," he stopped and watched me as I began to swim back into reality. His eyes widened slightly and the man began to flush. "My name is Sven. I'm the towns bard and that was my mother," he said pointing towards the house where the woman was currently standing. Sven took my arm and began to guide towards what looked to be a tavern. "Did you come here by yourself or are you traveling with your husband?" he asked quietly and I slowly pried his hand off of my arm and looked at him squarely.

"I didn't come here by myself, Sven. I came with Hadvar and Ralof from Helgen," I said walking towards the tavern but I turned to see his reaction when I was plowed over by Ralof. I reached for Sven's hand as Ralof began to pull me in the direction of the tavern but was stopped short by Hadvar who was yelling something from the porch of one of the homes before he joined us on our small journey.

"This is quite the troupe you have here, Miss. May I become an official member too?" Sven asked still holding my hand firmly and he raised his eyes to Ralof and Hadvar who were beginning to turn a strange shade of red. I attempted to drop his hand but was caught off guard when he pulled me closer. "Say you'll let me join?" he asked blowing air into my ear and the warmth of his breath made me feel uneasy. Hadvar stepped towards us and gently pried me away from him before Ralof took to Sven and dragged him behind the lumberyard. I stood wide-eyed as I watched the two men disappear as Hadvar strolled up to me and took Svens place beside me.

"Nikolai, let's get you a room and some drinks. We have some things to discuss about your next step," Hadvar said walking ahead of me to the tavern. He held the door open for me and walked me to one of the benches before turning to the innkeeper and paying for a room and a few rounds of mead. One of the barmaids brought over a tray filled with a different types of mead and a variety of foods. Her dress cut lower then it should and when Hadvar returned to the table she pushed herself against him and began to whisper things into his ear but he didn't seem to feel the same way about this vixen. He gently pushed her away and thanked her for the mead and turned to me smiling sweetly. "Don't mind her. We were very good friends when we were younger and she still believes that we are," he said pouring four mugs of mead and sat down in front of me. "The other two clowns should be here any time now and we'll be able to move on with our business." Before he had even finished saying this, the inn door opened. Ralof and a heavily bruised Sven walked in smiling apologetically to us.

"Sorry we're late but Sven decided that he wanted to pick Nikolai some wild flowers," he said laughing and I watched Sven as the color rose more prominently to his face. I began to scrutinize his face when I noticed that everyone was watching us. Sven carefully sat down next to me as the barmaid rushed over to us and began yelling at Ralof.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Ralof? What did Sven do to deserve this?" she asked pawing at his face and glaring harshly at me. "You know what? I doubt it was your fault. This posh little girl probably put you up to it, didn't she?" A smug smirk played on the girls lips as I rose from my seat and reached to my side which held the only weapon I've come to know. I unsheathed it and placed the tip of it in the tender flesh between her collar bones and watched with grim satisfaction as her smirk vanished and was replaced with fear. I heard someone calling my name as I dropped my weapon and placed it back into its sheath. Hadvar's hands rested on my shoulder firmly and Ralof's held my arms to my sides from behind.

"You need to walk away from this now, lass." Hadvar watched the barmaid as she backed away and escaped through the front door. The hands that were holding me in place released me and I carefully sat down again watching the three men around me huddle together. I could hear them whispering quietly but urgently and found that Sven had decided to sit on the opposite side of the table with the other two men. "Now is not the time for us to mince words with you, Nikolai. We need you to go to the Jarl of Whiterun and warn him about the dragon. Easily, Helgen was larger than Riverwood and it took mere minutes to destroy the town. Ralof, Sven, and myself need to stay here and help the guard the best we can but you have no ties here and need to get the word out. We have all of the supplies you will need in these two bags," he said pulling two larger satchels from beneath the table.

"These are all items that our families have donated to help your cause including a few new weapons and a modest amount of gold. It's not much but it's all we could do," he said motioning to the three of them. I felt myself beginning to trace that scar that sat on my thigh when the men stood up with their mugs and watched me as I carefully stood up and raised my mug to theirs. "We wish you all the luck the Gods' can give, Nikolai. Be successful in your journey and return to us in one piece." Ralof clinked our mugs together and we were more then happy to drink down the contents.

I finished my drink and watched the men as they began to goad Sven to sing for us and laughed as he drunkenly picked up his lute and began to sing.


	8. Scarred Blossom

The fallen blossoms from the trees above gave the road a mystical and wondrous feel to the long trail to Whiterun but the howling of wolves brought me back into reality as I readied my sword for the impending attack. My ears were becoming more attuned to the sound of footsteps and it took another minute more of listening to confirm that I was being followed and I had no reason to be worried until a second pair began to make itself more noticeable. The cobbled stones beneath my feet grew more frequent as I came onto, what I could only hope was, the main road leading to the Jarl. One of the guards happened to walk past me then and even under his helmet I could see the curiosity gleaming in his eyes and a seductive smile playing on his lips but I knew that the blush would rise to my cheeks invitingly. The footsteps behind me grew louder as they had begun to run towards me but a clash of steel stopped them from reaching their intended target but I whirled around in time to see the guard writhing on the ground and one of the men kneeling on the ground with a large gash running along his lower back before he collapsed into a pool of blood. The second man caught an arrow in the shoulder from another guard who had run from the bridge up ahead but the man continued towards me.

"The Night Mother has come for you," the man said as he removed a dagger from one of the numerous pockets that covered his darkened armor. I reached and pulled my iron sword from my side and deflected his blow but this small instrument carried so much strength behind it. The man behind the dagger snarled at me as he drove the dagger closer to its target.

"Run!" the female guard screamed at me as she knocked the man in the back with her shield and, unfortunately for me, he was driven into my direction which gave him the perfect opportunity to land the dagger into the beautiful clothing the two families had bought for me and as the vibrant color spread over the bodice of the dress I felt as though everything happened in slow motion. My sword fell to the ground and, for the first time in my magic user life, two spells came to my hands and I discharged them squarely into the chest of the man. He twitched momentarily before collapsing onto the blood soaked cobblestones.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" the female guard asked as she bent to examine my newfound wound and inspect the dead man at my feet. "Not many people survive an attack from the Dark Brotherhood and can later tell about it." She hoisted me up as I ran to the other guard who had fallen moments earlier and examined his wounds as Ralof had done to me.

He winced beneath me as my finger entered his wound and I was overjoyed to know that few muscles had been severed. I pulled my finger from within him and sent a silent prayer to help me heal him. My hands radiated a blue light as I reached to strip off the top layer of his armor and placed my hand on his bare chest. A radiating warmth spread through me as I continued to heal the man who laid beneath me and I noticed that the other guard was standing off to the side watching me work.

"When I have healed him, will you help me get him to one of the inns in Whiterun? I will also have to heal my own and I will need to double check how he's healed," I looked to her momentarily to see her hastily nod at me before running to a building at the fork in the road and the bridge. I turned my body to watch where she had ran but found that she may have abandoned us but I felt slightly comforted when a hand weakly held onto my wrist. The man beneath me squirmed uncomfortably as I realized just how I was perched atop him.

"Well, this has to be the first time someone like you decided to perch so lewdly atop me but I suppose that's some of my compensation for helping to save your life," the guard said as he attempted to sit up and check the wounds that he had received. I watched him and realized that something warm and sticky was running from my chest. I felt myself fall to the side as my bleeding chest didn't falter; my eyes began to close as I heard the voice of a woman and another man rush to us. I could no longer see anything but I felt one of them gingerly pick me up before the darkness covered me.

Something hard lay beneath me as hands pass over my chilled flesh and I realized that my armor had been removed and someone was quietly whispering across the room. I began to lift myself onto my elbows and carefully admired my healing chest when I noticed the guard laying down in the cot next to mine watching me.

"Are you alright? I was helping them remove your armor and, thank the Nine Divine, your wounds were already beginning to knit back together but the wound on your shoulder was already mostly healed. They were going to cut it back open and stitch it together to make it a more clean wound but you were so deeply asleep that they decided against it. You have these burn markings on your thigh in the shape of a dragon. May I ask why?" he cocked his head questioningly at me as I felt heat rise to my face but my hand found my marking without fail and began to trace it fervently.

"Well, it is a mark I received when I was very young by the man who attempted to take me from my family. He chose the dragon because they don't easily give up and neither do I," my eyes fell from the guard and to the floor as my hands fell from my thigh and to the edge of the cot. Cautiously, I threw one leg over the edge and followed it with the other as I tested how healed my newfound wound was. Lithely, I hopped down from the cot and examined my wound more closely as the guard began to also sit up and attempt to stand. I motioned for him to stay still and laid a hand onto his broad chest as the ethereal blue swirled around the cut and began to finish knitting it back together. I felt my energy being sapped away when a faint scar appeared in place of his gash. The Priestess watched our exchange with slight disgust as she made her way over to us.

"That is a most inappropriate way to act with someone especially when you are wearing nothing but your underclothes, Miss." She placed a blanket around me and guided me to a closet where I was told to pick something reasonable until my armor and dress could be fixed. "It will be a few days until your things are repaired but I wanted to ask you if you wanted us to do the small procedure on your shoulder to make it heal more evenly. Instead of stitching it you tried healing it with magic, didn't you? I'd hate to see the amount of damage inside," she said placing a hand on my shoulder and pulling my sleeve down enough to see the already forming scar.

"I think that it," I stopped and watched the people in the room carefully. "I think it would be a good idea to do it. I don't have much to hide but that blemish is something that everyone will end up seeing." She nodded in agreement and called for someone to grab her one of the enchanted daggers, some bandages, and a bowl. My stomach began to churn as she stripped the dress from me and laid me onto the cot once more.

"You don't want to move while we do this," she said as she pulled the dagger from the sheathe. "Guard, come and hold her down. She must be still during this." He quietly walked over to us and placed his hands on my shoulders but his face was set very grimly.

"Keep your eyes on me, alright?" he whispered to me as the tip of the dagger drove its way into the scarred tissue and I felt myself involuntarily try to reach for the dagger that was cutting and digging into me. "Stop. Watch me, okay? You wanted her to do this. Stop moving," he said trying to comfort me. My eyes found his but he was so blurred that it was difficult to see him and I found myself trying to form a question but my mouth wouldn't shape the words. The only sound that escaped me was the tortured moans as she pulled the blood soaked dagger away from me and I watched as she smiled when she threaded a needle.

"We need to stitch it together now and then you can be on your way. I hear you have business with the Jarl and you also need to pay a visit to the Companions for bringing you here. I'm not sure where you want to go first but we need to make you presentable," she said still smiling as she dug the needle into my tender flesh for what seemed like forever. Another dagger was brought to her as she cut the string and bandaged my shoulder tightly. The guard hesitantly let go of my shoulders and placed himself on the far end of the room where he sat watching our quiet exchange about the payment.

"Miss, once you're dressed I will personally escort you to the Jarl and to Aela. Farkas and Aela were taking care of a giant when they ran into us and made the decision to bring us to this temple. We're very lucky to have made it alive from your encounter with the Dark Brotherhood but what have you done that would make someone want to have you killed?" The last part of this was more of a question to himself than to me. His armor was spread over a table and was being stitched by one of the Priests when he strolled over to it and began dressing himself. "Now that we have become very acquainted, may I ask your name?" he gestured his hand to me as if giving me permission to speak.

"I'm Nikolai Ashev. What is your name, guard?" I began to pull the dress over my head and stitching the corset together when he approached me. He gently cupped my face and moved past my lips to my ear.

"That is a beautiful name, Nikolai. It's beauty is very fitting for you." I felt his warm breath. "You ask my name?" He paused and I stiffly nodded hoping that our exchange wouldn't be noticeable here but in a temple of this size we were the main attraction. "My name is Vorstag," he said kissing my cheek lightly and laughing when I began to blush.


End file.
